Word Order

Word Order

When we make a sentence in English, we normally follow the following order. Subject + Verb + Object + Adverb Of Place + Adverb Of Time. Let's see the following example.

Subject	Verb	Object	Manner	Place	Time
The boy	studies	English	well	at school	every day.
The maid	cleans	the house	thoroughly		every morning.
John	works		hard		every day.
Mary	will get married to	George			tomorrow.

Verb + Object 

The verb and the object of the verb normally go together. We do not usually put other words between them.

Verb + Object

Susan likes children very much. (not 'Susan likes very much children.') Did you watch football match yesterday? Ann often sees him.  Do you clean the house every week-end? (not 'Do you clean every week-end the house?')

 Place and Time 

We usually say the place  before the time.

place + time

Paul walks to school every morning. (not ' Paul walks every morning to school.') She has been in Copenhagen since May. We arrived at the airport early. I'm going to Paris to Monday. (not 'I'm going on Monday to Paris.')

Adverb Of Time At The Beginning Of A Sentence

We can put the time at the beginning of the sentence.

• On Sunday I'm going to Paris.
• Every morning Paul walks to school.

Note that you cannot use early or late at the beginning of the sentence in this  way.  

Adverbs Before Verbs

A lot of adverbs are put before verbs. 

• always
• also
• sometimes
• possibly
• probably
• often
• seldom
• never
• hardly ever
• almost
• still
• definitely
• certainly
• even
• only

Let's see the following sentences.

1. Paul always walks to school.
2. I also walk to school.
3. He often asks me to go together.
4. We never go to school by car.

Adverbs After The First Verb

When there are more than one verb, we usually put an adverb after the first verb. Let's see the following examples.

1. I can never forget her. ( can = the first verb, forget = the second verb )
2. She has always loved him. ( has = the first verb, loved = the second verb.)
3. This house has probably been neglected.

Exercise I

Arrange the sentences into the correct order.

1. her-very-likes-John-much
2. nicely-Mary-talk-can-everyone-to
3. guide-our-English-spoke-fluently

Key

Exercise II

In this exercise you have to choose the sentence with the correct word order in each number.

1. a. She often goes to work by car.   b. She goes often to work by car.
2. a. She has always kept her secret.  b. She always has kept her secret.
3. a. I only can give you this book.      b. I can only give you this book.
4. a. I never will forget her.                b. I will never forget her.
5. a. She will probably come back.       b. She probably will come back.

Answer

1. her-very-likes-John-much  : John likes her very much.
2. nicely-Mary-talk-can-everyone-to : Mary can talk to everyone nicely.
3. guide-our-English-spoke-fluently : Our guide spoke English fluently.

Answer

1. a. She often goes to work by car.   
2. a. She has always kept her secret.
3. b. I can only give you this book.
4. b. I will never forget her.
5. a. She will probably come back.